The Foundling Part IV

Feeling triumphant, Gilly returns to Tom and the inn, but next day, Belinda turns up and says that she has come to stay with him. He realises how silly she is, and that she will inevitably say or do something disastrous, but he is too kind not to help her. She tells him that she knew when they met that he was not Matthew, but if she argued with Liversedge, he boxed her ears -so she said nothing. He finds that she was an apprentice milliner, and that she left her job, breaking her agreement with the business, to have an easier life, as she hoped, with Liversedge. She is only 17, and is a foundling who has no relatives and no real friends. Gilly feels sorry for her. She then tells him that she had once met a nice young man, a farmer, called Jasper Mudgeley, who lived near Bath, and who had taken her home to meet his mother. Gilly wonders if he could reunite the couple; that would provide Belinda with a home and family. However, the landlady of his inn is not pleased with the girl's arrival. She thinks Belinda is a loose woman, because she is so pretty. Gilly tells her a fantastic story that Tom and Belinda are brother and sister and that he is in charge of them... and she allows them to stay for a couple of days. They leave Mrs Appleby's and as they journey on, they go to a local fair. Liversedge manages to kidnap Gilly, and to lock him up in the cellar of the inn where he's staying. He has worked out now that Gilly is not Matthew Ware, but the very wealthy Duke of Sale. He reckons that the family would pay to get Gilly back again, or if he removed Gilly, Lord Lionel and Gideon would become the Duke and heir to the Dukedom. They might well be happy with such an outcome. Leaving the young duke locked up, he journeys to London to see Gideon. Gideon loses his temper violently with him, and forces him to take him back to the inn to rescue Gilly. But by the time they get there, his cousin has managed to burn down the inn, using a little device that he had bought for lighting his cigar. He has escapted and is very pleased with himself. But he finds that Mr Mamble, Tom's father, has managed to trace him. He manages to soothe the irate businessman, who is half angry at Tom's running off and half thrilled that his son has become the protege of a very wealthy Duke. Gilly suggests that Mr Mamble should send his son to school where he will meet other boys of his own age. He also is trying, on his arrival in Bath, to find Mr Mudgely, in hopes that this honest farmer still wants to marry Belinda. He visits Harriet, who has heard gossip about his being seen with a very beautiful girl. He assures her that she has nothing to fear from Belinda. He asks her to take the girl in until he can continue his search for Mudgely. Harriet, relieved and happy, and feeling sorry for Belinda, agrees to have her to stay. She tells Gilly that her grandmother, Old Lady Ampleforth, with whom she is staying, will be pleased to learn that he is capable of a bit of wild behaviour. She thinks he is too prim and proper. Gilly realises that although he did not love Harriet when they got engaged, he has grown to love her. She is kindly and helpful and they will make each other happy. She suggests that she might be able to sort out the problem of Belinda's having broken her indentures, by going to her mistress and buying several hats from her. He is delighted at her having this helpful idea. Gilly decides he must go to Cheyneys -a house he owns near Bath. He is wanted by the bailiff there, who says that there is a small problem he needs to sort out. A young farmer who owns land near the estate wants to buy one of Gilly's fields, which he presently rents. But the trustees of the estate were reluctant to sell the land. Gilly finds that the man is called Mudgeley.. and he realises that this is Belinda's admirer. His agent takes him to Mudgely's farm and he talks to the young man's mother. She tells him that her son Jasper was in love with a girl earlier that year, but she disappeared. She fears that her son won't ever love another girl. Gilly explains to her that he has met Belinda. Although she is a very silly girl and has been drifting around the world, she is still an innocent girl and has a genuine affection for Jasper. He agrees to talk to the young farmer and explain the situation to him.